Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies. Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Results tagged ‘ Nate Schierholtz ’

The torture that was the 2012 Phillies season is finally over. And sadly, it ended just as I predicted before the season even began; without a playoff bid. I was hoping to be wrong about that.

Since the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, each year they have taken exactly one step backwards. So this year, missing the playoffs seemed like their destiny. They lost the World Series in 2009; lost the NL Championship Series in 2010; lost the NL Division Series in 2011; and now, the next logical step has arrived. The Phillies will go home early without even a sniff at a post-season run.

Remember happy days like these?:

For now, they are gone :O(

The first casualties of the 2012 disaster are already accounted for. Bench coach Pete Mackanin, hitting coach Greg Gross and first base coach Sam Perlozzo have all been given their walking papers. More fallout is probably on the horizon, but it will probably involve players, not coaches.

So who else should stay and who should go? Here are some thoughts, starting with the offense:

In 195 at-bats, Kevin Frandsen hit .338, which led the team. And for an entire month, he played with a stress fracture in his leg, yet he still kept hitting. I say put him at 3rd base and get a back-up in case of injuries.

If the Phillies do not re-sign Juan Pierre, they are insane. He hit .307 in 394 at-bats, led the team in stolen bases with 37 and he is the best bunter you can find anywhere.

Bring Shane Victorino back! After a depressing second half with the Dodgers, his price will go down, possibly to the point where the Phillies can afford to resign him. John Mayberry Jr. and Domonic Brown can platoon and then the Phils need another outfielder or two.

Needs to Go: Nate Schierholtz, Ty Wigginton, Michael Martinez. Martinez is good defensively, but hit only .174 in 115 at-bats. They can find a better utility guy. And we are stuck with Laynce Nix for one more year unless someone is willing to trade for him…not likely.

Back-up Catcher: In – Erik Kratz; Out – Brian Schneider.

Relief Pitching: Jonathan Papelbon stays and probably Antonio Bastardo. I will also put in votes for Jeremy Horst and Phillipe Aumont. The maybes are Jake Diekman and Justin DeFratus, although DeFratus needs to be 100% healthy, which I feel is still in question. Michael Stutes may return, but no one is sure in what condition.

Please Go Away: Josh Lindblom – trade him (if anyone wants him). He has been awful. This team needs some veteran help in the pen.

And of course, all the usual suspects, like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, etc… will be back. But will they be healthy? That is the looming question.

To give an idea of how badly the injuries hurt the team this year, consider this: I may be missing some, but by looking at the team stats, at least 49 different players made an appearance for the Phillies this year, rotating in and out of the 25-man roster. Also, only 2 players of those 49 reached 400 or more at-bats; Rollins (632) and Mayberry (441). That is scary.

So the season is over and the healing (quite literally) shall begin. Do you have any thoughts you would like to share about this season? Feel free to leave comments below.

The start of Friday night’s Phillies game against the Rockies was painful to watch. Cliff Lee did not start off very well, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits in the 1st inning. Michael Martinez made an error at 3rd base, which extended the inning. In all, not a great beginning.

But Lee settled down after the 1st inning snafu. However, the Phillies offense seemed content to keep blowing opportunities. Ty Wigginton got a rare start at 1st base, but the rust from sitting on the bench was very apparent. He struck out in all 3 at-bats, twice when there was 1 out and a runner on 3rd base. Worse, Juan Pierre was on base both times and managed to steal 2 base the second time around. Still, Wigginton could not get the runs home.

Clearly not his night, manager Charlie Manuel decided to pinch hit for Wigginton in the 7th. That move proved to be a momentum changer as Laynce Nix smashed a 2-run double to tie the score. Then 4 bullpen guys held the lead from the 7th to the 9th inning, giving the Phillies a chance to win.

In the bottom of the 9th, Jimmy Rollins worked out a lead-off walk and Pierre, already with 3 hits on the night, put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runner over. The Rockies intentionally walked Chase Utley and Nate Schierholtz stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter. A wild pitch moved Rollins to 3rd and Schierholtz then singled to right, scoring Rollins for the walk-off win.

This has been a tough year for Schierholtz who got traded here from the Giants mid-season, giving him hope of more playing time and a chance to prove himself. But a broken toe sidelined him in mid-August, just as he was getting comfortable in the line-up. Schierholtz was activated off the DL on September 1st and had not had a hit since returning until last night. That walk-off single had to be quite a relief for him.

The Phillies have two more games with the Rockies; Cole Hamels will pitch tonight and then Tyler Cloyd on Sunday. I will be attending both games and hope to return with some photos if the weather cooperates. Game time tonight is 7:05pm.

In the 5th inning of Tuesday’s Phillies – Reds matchup, Jimmy Rollins doubled for what on any other day would have been just another hit. But this particular hit marked the 2,000th of Rollins’ career making him only the 4th player in team history to reach the milestone. The other 3 players were Mike Schmidt (2,234), Richie Ashburn (2,217) and Ed Delahanty (2,207).

Rollins’ wife Johari and his infant daughter were on hand to witness the event. It was a special moment for Rollins, who will likely be considered the greatest shortstop in Phillies history by the time his career ends. But for now, Rollins says, “It’s great, but 3,000 is better.”

Unfortunately, the moment was slightly marred by a very strange Phillies 2-1 loss in which the umpires once again played a huge role. In the 4th inning, the Phillies had loaded the bases with one out and scored a run on a walk, much to the dismay of Reds pitcher Mat Latos. Latos looked horribly rattled and frustrated, setting up what should have been a huge inning for the Phillies. But just then, horrendous umpiring struck again.

Nate Schierholtz smacked what should have been an RBI-single to center; it was instead called an out even though it was clear to the naked eye, at full speed, that the ball hit the ground before entering the fielder’s glove. A 3-year old could have made the correct call, but not MLB umpires.

The base runners all froze in the confusion and the hit turned into an inning-ending double play instead. The “catch” was one out and the runner caught off 2nd base was the other. Not only did this gigantic blunder cost the Phillies that one run, it probably cost them the game. Because Latos was clearly falling apart and that RBI-single probably would have sent him off the deep end, translating into a big inning for the Phillies.

But that did not even have a chance to play out, thanks to the morons umpiring the game. The Phillies did have other chances to score and failed, but this screw-up really killed their momentum. Those idiots still get their paychecks and go on with their lives as MLB never holds any umpire accountable for blown calls. You know, the usual crap we all have to watch and live with. It is shameful.

The Phillies have one more shot at the Reds early this afternoon. Game time is 12:35pm.

It seems like a very long time since we have seen a really good Phillies game. But with Roy Halladay on the mound last night looking like the ace that he is, it felt like old times again.

After a year of struggles and injury, Halladay appears to be at 100% finally. Against the World Champion Cardinals Friday night, he pitched 8 innings and allowed only 2 hits, one of which was a solo homer. That would be the only run of the night for the Cards.

The Phillies are in the process of finding out exactly what they have for next year. Halladay’s performance was a huge boost in that regard. They also tooled around in the outfield, moving guys here and there like a roulette wheel to see which one might hit the jackpot.

As a result, Nate Schierholtz played center field for the first time in his MLB career. Domonic Brown started in right and then both guys got shuffled around later in the game. Even with all the changes, everyone held their own pretty well.

Brown knocked in the first run for the Phillies with a single in the second that scored Ryan Howard. The other 2 runs scored on an 8th inning 2-run homer from Chase Utley. He hit the ball so hard it went into the upper deck of the bullpen in center field. It looks like Utley has also found his groove again.

The pitching was excellent for both teams, but the Utley homer won the game for the Phillies who walked away with a 3-1 victory. Game 2 starts tonight at 7:05pm. Cliff Lee will pitch and try to keep pace with the Doc’s amazing performance.

And a quick congratulations to former catcher Mike Lieberthal who was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame last night! Lieby looked both humbled and honored as he accepted the award and thanked the fans for their support. Congrats to him…a well deserved honor!

The newest additions to the Phillies after a few call-ups and trades are fitting in well with this team. In some ways, that is very good. In other ways, not so much.

Here are a few 2012 Phillies bad habits exhibited in last night’s game against the Nationals that they will need to get out of quickly:

– Kevin Fransden, a call-up, commited an error at 3rd base, becoming the 4th different Phillies player to do so at the hot corner this year. The 3rd base error total is now 13.

– Both Fransden and the newly acquired Nate Schierholtz left a runner stranded on 3rd base with less than 2 outs in the inning.

– Josh Lindblom, acquired from the Dodgers, gave up a hit to the 1st batter he faced.

– Domonic Brown, called-up from Triple-A, went 0-4 on the night.

But luckily, the bad habits did not break them. In fact, each new player had at least one very nice moment as well:

– Fransden recovered after his error and played good defense.

– Schierholtz went back-to-back with Jimmy Rollins for his first home run as a Phillie. Rollins had 2 homers in the game.

– Lindblom struck out the 2nd batter he faced.

– Despite going 0-4, Brown had a good day in the field. He threw out a runner going home with a very strong toss.

Another guy who had a great day was Erik Kratz…again. This guy is making a strong case to be the back-up next season. Kratz took that toss from Brown and created a brick wall in front of home plate to save a run. He also threw a runner out who was trying to steal second and caught a very tough foul pop-fly. At the plate, Kratz recorded 1 hit and a walk.

And Vance Worley survived the 1st inning blunders and wound up having a great night. He pitched 7 strong innings without allowing an earned run. Looks like the Vanimal is back!

So the big question now is, can this new-look, last place Phillies team actually SWEEP the 1st place Nationals? After the last 2 games, it looks like they actually have a shot. Game time tonight is 7:05pm.

And in case you missed it, here is the full-page ad Shane Victorino took out in the daily news to thank Phillies fans:

Now that the dust has settled on baseball’s trade deadline, there is a lot of information to absorb and process. And for the Phillies and their fans, there are a lot of emotions involved as well. I think Ryan Howard summed it up best when he told beat writer Todd Zolecki, “Shane’s been here for a long time. Like I said, (he) was a very big part of this club. It is weird not seeing his face. It’s weird not seeing Hunter. But that’s how baseball works sometimes.”

“Weird” is an excellent description. Everyone expected major change because of this backwards Phillies season, but it is still strange to see a guy like Shane Victorino in another uniform after being such an integral part of this team for so long. He was indeed the “personality” of the team as well during their better days; loose, fun and fiery.

Shane was also open, honest and easily approachable, something many fans really appreciated. I had the great pleasure of spending time with him and his wife Melissa on several Phillies Cruise’s and can tell you they are wonderful, generous people. I wish Shane and his family all the best; they will be missed.

As for Hunter Pence, his energy will be missed. But honestly, I won’t miss his free-swinging and awkward plate approach; it totally stressed me out! But I am sure he will be a big help to the Giants; best of luck to him!

So what did the Phillies really get in return for all these moves? Well first, they dumped some salary which will help keep them under the luxury tax this year. They also got 5 new players; 2 major leaguers and 3 prospects.

The 2 major leaguers who will join the Phillies today are right-handed relief pitcher Josh Lindblom and outfielder Nate Schierholtz. Lindblom has a 3.02 ERA in 48 games this year and should be able to help out the bullpen right away. Schierholtz is a platoon player and lifetime .270 hitter. He will be a huge defensive upgrade over Pence, but an offensive downgrade.

The 3 prospects are right-handed relief pitcher Ethan Martin, catcher Tommy Joseph and right-hander Seth Rosin. Martin was the #7 prospect in the Dodgers top 20 and a former 1st round pick. He is probably a few years away from the majors.

Joseph is an interesting prospect; he was #5 in the Giants top 20 and a 2012 Futures Gamer. He is highly touted as a power-hitting run producer with a strong arm. He will likely either take over for Carlos Ruiz after the 2013 season or be used as trade bait in the off-season. Ruben Amaro Jr. has already gotten calls from other teams about him.

And finally, Rosin was #19 in the Giants top 20 with a fastball in the mid-to-upper 90’s. He has a 4.31 ERA so far this season.

These are obviously not mind-blowing pick-ups, but Amaro seems to have gotten as much as would be expected by these moves. So now we get to see if Domonic Brown and John Mayberry Jr. have what it takes to be everyday players. How these 2 guys play will determine many off-season moves for the Phillies.

In the meantime, this team still will keep on playing. Oddly enough, yesterday’s moves seem to have given the Phillies a little spark as they routed the 1st place Nationals 8-0. Now that the pressure is off and they are not expected to climb out of this huge hole, we may see some better baseball.

Mayberry looked like a new man last night with 2 hits and a walk. New Phillie Kevin Fransden played amazing defense at 3rd base and whacked a 2-run homer. And Juan Pierre had 3 hits, although that is not unusual for him.

But the most exciting play of the game was a 2-run inside-the-park homer from Jimmy Rollins. He sped around the bases so fast, he scored standing.

All of a sudden, the Phillies had everything working. Even the pitching was going well as Cliff Lee finally notched his 2nd win of the year with 7 scoreless innings. Now that is the Lee we have been missing lately.

So here are the new Phillies…for now. Wouldn’t it be nice if, just for spite, they could sweep the Nationals? Ok, maybe I am dreaming…but still hoping for better baseball ahead!

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